{"id":669051,"date":"2026-11-09T13:27:13","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T17:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/669051\/"},"modified":"2026-11-09T13:27:13","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T17:27:13","slug":"ed-to-question-r-premkumar-in-blm-financial-fraud-case-rs-104-crore-assets-frozen-indications-of-foreign-links","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/669051\/","title":{"rendered":"ED to Question R. Premkumar in BLM Financial Fraud Case; Rs 104 Crore Assets Frozen, Indications of Foreign Links"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"ED<\/figure>\n

Kozhikode: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has intensified its investigation into the financial fraud case involving Bharat Lajna Multi-State Housing Cooperative Society (BLM). The agency has decided to question R. Premkumar, the chairman and founder of the society. This decision follows the scrutiny of documents and data related to financial transactions obtained from raids conducted across several locations.<\/p>\n

The ED is preparing to conduct a detailed inquiry into the deployment of hundreds of crores of rupees collected from investors, irregular financial dealings, and the sources of funds used to acquire assets. The probe also includes examining whether hawala transactions took place, alongside investigations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.<\/p>\n

The investigative team plans to serve Premkumar a notice to appear for questioning as early as next week. However, information has emerged that Premkumar is currently abroad. The ED is considering further steps, including the issuance of a look-out circular, should he fail to accept the notice or cooperate with the investigation.<\/p>\n

Earlier, the ED had frozen assets worth Rs 104 crore as part of the economic irregularities linked to BLM. The ED alleges widespread diversion of the funds collected from investors and large-scale financial fraud.<\/p>\n

Based on the scale of financial transactions, the ED has declared that the investigation will be intensified and actions against the accused will continue, according to an official press release.<\/p>\n

As part of the investigation, the ED conducted widespread raids at multiple centres in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. These included BLM\u2019s headquarters in Coimbatore, along with key locations in Coimbatore, Kochi, and Kozhikode, making up about ten significant centres.<\/p>\n

The raids focused on documents related to the society\u2019s financial transactions, investor details, and property records. The investigation agency stated that the raids revealed evidence of serious financial irregularities.<\/p>\n

A primary allegation is the illegal diversion of investors\u2019 money collected under the guise of the housing society. Instead of being used for the society\u2019s declared objectives, the funds were transferred to assets and other financial transactions in the names of Premkumar and his family members.<\/p>\n

BLM allegedly collected hundreds of crores from investors by promising high interest rates and attractive profits. Complaints arose when, after the maturity period, neither the invested amount nor the promised returns were paid back.<\/p>\n

As many investors faced financial difficulties, the society\u2019s operations and transactions came under investigation. The Crime Branch has found that investors\u2019 money was used to purchase luxury hotels, theatres, and resorts.<\/p>\n

The Crime Branch\u2019s financial crime investigation unit submitted a report to the High Court detailing these findings. The report states that funds that came into the society were diverted by founder R. Premkumar for personal use and for financial dealings involving his relatives.<\/p>\n

Among the assets purchased using investors\u2019 money are a luxury hotel in Thiruvananthapuram, the Ragam Theatre in Thrissur, and resorts in Munnar. Additionally, large sums were allegedly diverted through various companies, according to the investigation.<\/p>\n

The agencies are examining financial records of these companies and documentation related to asset purchases to ascertain the actual utilization of the funds. The investigation also seeks to determine which bank accounts received society funds, whose names the properties were registered in, and whether any other parties were involved.<\/p>\n

Besides probing financial irregularities, the ED is also examining possible money laundering activities.<\/p>\n

Earlier, R. Premkumar was arrested by the Kozhikode Crime Branch in connection with the case. However, the court granted bail citing procedural lapses in the arrest. While the Crime Branch was pursuing further legal steps to re-arrest Premkumar, the ED has simultaneously stepped up its investigation.<\/p>\n

The ED\u2019s actions alongside the Crime Branch\u2019s investigation are expected to be crucial in advancing the case. The focus is especially on properties allegedly bought with investor money, widespread money movement through various companies, and foreign financial transactions.<\/p>\n

The investigation team hopes that questioning Premkumar will provide further insights into the usage of the investment funds. Meanwhile, given the information about his current stay abroad, whether he appears for questioning and how further actions proceed remain critical.<\/p>\n

The prospects of the investors recovering their losses in this multi-crore investment fraud depend heavily on the outcome of ongoing investigations.<\/p>\n

n<\/p>\n

Original Malayalam report: Malayalam Daily News<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kozhikode: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has intensified its investigation into the financial fraud case involving Bharat Lajna Multi-State Housing Cooperative Society (BLM). The agency has decided to question R. Premkumar, the chairman and founder of the society. This decision follows the scrutiny of documents and data related to financial transactions obtained from raids conducted across several locations. The ED is preparing to conduct a detailed inquiry into the deployment of hundreds of crores of rupees collected from investors, irregular financial dealings, and the sources of funds used to acquire assets.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":669052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[582,170398,47748],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-669051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","category-kerala","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/669052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malayalamdailynews.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}